


After Enduring Seven Years

by faraandmera



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: (off screen) murder, Giant robin, M/M, Post Game, male robin and morgan, over protective chrom, some canon divergence, twin morgan and lucina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 13:30:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11738064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faraandmera/pseuds/faraandmera
Summary: It had been seven years. Seven long, agonizing years where Chrom wasn’t sure he’d ever see Robin again. Robin could be- was- a giant for all he cared. As long as he was Robin, and he was alive, Chrom didn’t care. Doesn’t care.





	After Enduring Seven Years

**Author's Note:**

> Written at the request of a commissioner. I never would have thought up this concept on my own, so it was interesting to write.

When Grim is defeated, it’s bittersweet. For Chrom, it’s more bitter than sweet. Robin had promised. He’d promised that he wouldn’t kill Grima, because that would cause his own death as well. He’d promised he wouldn’t do that to them, to Chrom. So Chrom had been angry. Angry, and sad, and frustrated. The worst part was, he couldn’t even be angry _at_ Robin himself. He understood why Robin did it, as much as he hated it. No, he wasn’t angry with Robin; he was angry with himself. For not moving faster, for not stopping Robin.

For not realizing Robin was lying.

There was a chance, though, that Robin could still be out there. That he could survive. That they could find him. So Chrom started searching. Started, and refused to stop. He __would__ find Robin. He would find Robin, and then he’d cry in happiness, and they could go back to their lives. To the leader of a country, and his trusted tactician and lover.

Finding Robin in the state they did, didn’t change anything. It had been __seven__ years. Seven long, agonizing years where Chrom wasn’t sure he’d ever see Robin again. Robin could be- was- a giant for all he cared. As long as he was __Robin__ , and he was alive, Chrom didn’t care. Doesn’t care.

“There are better places to sleep than on the ground, you know.” Chrom would offer his hand- try to recreate their first meeting- but he’s pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to lift Robin to his feet, any more.

“What?” Robin seems confused at first, and Chrom can’t blame him. Finding himself yet again in the middle of a field, let alone his new size? It had to be shocking. “Chrom?”

“Hey, welcome back.”

“Why are you so…” Robin frowns, looks down at his hands, then back up a Chrom. Probably noting that Chrom is barely the size of them, now. Rather, Robins hands are now the size of Chrom. Chrom offers a smile, trying to be comforting, but doesn’t know what to say.

“It’s not me that changed.” Chrom watches Robin stand- and how he know towers over Chrom- and look around. Robin seems to easily process the situation, as he looks at distant trees and notices how much smaller they seem than they’re supposed to.

“I don’t- this is really- how did this happen?” It’s not really a question. Not one meant to be answered, anyway. Robin stares down at his hands, like they’ll provide him answers. Chrom can’t help the worry that wells its way into his chest, and Robin’s confused expression. There has to be a lot going on his his head- more than usual- and Chrom doesn’t want Robin to think himself into being upset about the situation.

So Chrom holds out his own hands, and Robin leans to place one of his fingers between them. Chrom squeezes Robins finger as best he can, reassuring. “It’s okay. How or why this happened doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re back, and safe, and __alive__.”

“I- I’m sorry about that, you know? I just couldn’t just let Grima be sealed away, if I could make sure he was gone for good.”

“I know, I know. I wasn’t happy about it, especially when I wasn’t sure you were coming back, but it’s okay. You’re safe, that’s all that matters. And you put an end to Grima, too, so that’s a bonus.” Chrom smiles, and Robin laughs, covering his mouth.

“Yeah, a __bonus__.”

 

Some major adjustments have to be made to accommodate not only the fact that Robin is now too big to fit into his old room in the castle, but also all the changes that have happened in seven years, and Robin’s response to that.

The Shepherds are all older, and spread out, some with families now. Some of the future children are long since gone, and some remain nearby. A lot of the kids, in this time-line, have been born, too. Robin feels a particular amount of fear- and expresses as much- when he discovers Lucina and Morgan were born five years prior to his return. Chrom assures him the kids- twins- will love him, but Robin remains worried anyway.

“They don’t know me at all.” Robin frowns, taking small steps forward. Small steps for him, at least. Chrom still has to nearly run to keep up. This is going to take some getting used to, Chrom realizes, but it’s worth it all the same.

“They know about you, though.” Chrom gives Robin’s leg a small pat, though he’s not sure Robin notices. Chrom was surprised with how easily Robin accepted that the children had been born, but Robin had just nodded and accepted that, as exalt, Chrom needed heirs. Even with Robin back, he still would have needed to do the same, and it wasn’t like he was at all attached to the woman who gave birth to them. Though she was a nice lady, once the kids were born, she left of her own accord.

“That’s different from knowing me,” Robin says simply, sighing.

 

Robin’s fears- in relation to the kids- are proven immediately wrong. Not only do they take to him pretty quickly- Morgan especially- but they seem completely unaffected by his size. In fact, Lucina seems to think it’s exciting, and immediately makes an attempt to climb up to his shoulder.

“Lucina that’s dangerous, you could fall.” Robin instead offers his hand, for her to climb onto. Morgan, not wanting to be left out, follows Lucina onto Robins hands. Chrom finds himself smiling. This is all he wanted. Robin back, his kids happy, them to have the chance to be a family. Something which he was slowly losing faith would happen.

He wont let __anything__ change this.

While Robin lifts the kids, Lissa- who’d stayed behind to watch them, as well as her own child- laughs. “Don’t drop them!”

“I’m trying not to.”

Fredrick, who had been mostly silent- aside from welcoming Robin back- since they found Robin, speaks up just enough to gain Chrom’s attention. In turn, Chrom spins to face him. “Yes?”

“We should discuss… Robin’s current state.”

“What __about__ it?”

“We need to move his things, for one, to someplace more ready to accommodate him. Not to mention, no matter how little it bother us, there are people who will think this is something bad.”

“I don’t care what they think about this.”

“Yes, but they’ll talk.”

Chrom immediately wants to say, “ _ _they wont,__ ” but hold it back. He isn’t sure where that came from, or why he believes the statement. Instead, he just nods. “We’ll handle it.”

Robin- sweet, safe Robin, who laughs when Morgan presses his hand against Robins nose- deserves so much more than for people to talk about him, just because of this new development in size. He’s still the same person who saved the country- the world- from Grima. Still the one who lead an army to victory. At the very least, if Chrom can’t stop them from talking, he’ll make sure Robin doesn’t hear any of it.

 

Robin had always been a bit reclusive, when given the chance. He hadn’t the chance to hide away during the wars- too busy planning how to get as many people as possible out alive- but in the two year gap between them, he had been. Chrom had known, and hadn’t minded, this. However, Robin has taken to being even more reclusive than Chrom had seen him before, since his return.

Which is pretty bothersome when he hadn’t been able to see Robin for long enough, already. Seven years was plenty of time spent alone.

Robin only really comes out to see the twins, or Chrom. Sometimes Lissa goes to visit him, as well, but she’s busy with a tiny Owain, and Fredrick has been dealing with a lot of Chrom’s responsibilities.

“Robin, why are you always here?”

“I like it here. I’ve been reading a lot.” Robin’s defenses are, at best, realistic. They aren’t very believable, especially with his tone of voice and how difficult reading books has become at his new size, but they would make sense otherwise.

“Robin.” Chrom speaks gently. Usually he doesn’t feel the need to soften his tone- he is rather blunt- but he’s worried.

“This,” Robin motions to himself, “is hard to get used to. Not just for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing, nothing. It’s just strange.”

Chrom isn’t as oblivious as some people would like to believe. At the very least, he’s learned to take more into account about a situation, before making assumptions. And this isn’t a hard conclusion to come to. Someone must have said something.

 

There’s not much Chrom can do, without knowing who’s responsible for Robin’s current state, other than remind Robin that nothing has changed, outside of physical size, and that he doesn’t feel any different about Robin. That he does, and will always, love him.

It’s actually a weird sort of relief when he overhears some noble- one he never particularly liked in the first place- making an offhanded comment about Robin. About how he’s dangerous, and that they should, “get rid of him,” for the countries safety. The relief is overshadowed by his anger, and he was never one to think things through that much.

Stripping the noble of their status is not only very obvious, but also not enough. Chrom isn’t used to being so angry- there are only a few instances in which he’s felt this way, most revolving around the deaths of people he’s cared about- and without much to do with that anger, he turns it on the source.

There are very few people Chrom trusts with things he knows would bother most people, and he can’t very well go up to someone and ask them to kill another person, without raising some sort of suspicion.

But, if he invites the noble to an event, only a few weeks later, and if that noble disappears between the castle and their home? Well, Chrom can’t say he knows how that happened. People don’t particularly seem to miss them, anyway, so Chrom doesn’t say anything about it.

There’s a weird sort of satisfaction in knowing that they wont be able to say anything to hurt Robin, ever again.

 

Advisers exist to make sure that, as exalt, Chrom doesn’t make any stupid decisions that lead them into another war, or otherwise mess up the country. Of course, Chrom tends not to listen to them, but their advice is usually noted, and taken into account. The only one who Chrom really listens to, is Fredrick, but even then it’s very little.

Chrom especially isn’t going to listen when they talk about his husband being a threat to the country. Anger works its way into his chest again, and he can’t help but wonder if they are all __stupid__. Robin, a __threat__? The man who lead their armies to victory during time of war? The one who thought he was giving his life, in order to protect them? He’s supposed to be a threat, to what exactly? Because he’s a giant now? Something entirely out of his control is not a reason to single him out as a threat.

If anything, Chrom thinks, these people are the threat. People who want to ignore all the good someone has done, because they’ve physically changed.

Chrom wants to dismiss them all, replace them with more understanding people, but Fredrick tells him to rethink that. Replacing all of his advisers- sans Fredrick- at once would cause a stir, and may lead to even more problems. Chrom knows, logically, that Fredrick is right- the other even goes so far as to argue that Robin wouldn’t want them to make the situation unstable for his sake- but that doesn’t stop him from wanting to do something.

So he takes matters, more secretly, into his hands. Promises not to dismiss them, not to take their jobs away, but vaguely avoids saying he wont do anything at all. He’s not going to __fire__ them, or tell them they’re incompetent, no matter how much he thinks he should. There are other ways to get someone out of their position of power.

“Chrom, where are you going?” Robin hardly sleeps, which makes sneaking out difficult, but Chrom lays on a false- but convincing- smile and waves away Robin’s concern.

“I woke up suddenly remembering some papers I needed to look over. Something to do with a nearby town, I think? I don’t remember, except that Fredrick was really on my case about it.”

“Don’t overwork yourself.”

“That’s hypocritical.” Chrom grins, and Robin looks embarrassed. “I seem to remember you staying up for days on end, even when I told you to rest, looking over battle plans.”

“I __had__ to.”

“And I have to do this.” It’s not true, Chrom hardly handles paperwork himself, aside from signing it. But what he is doing, __is__ something he has to do, he tells himself. It’s necessary for Robin, himself, even the country. He can’t have his advisers be those types of people.

“Just… come back quickly?” Robin is surprisingly quiet, for someone so big.

“Of course.” Chrom makes his way out of the smaller of two doors- the one that’s normal sized, and sits next to one made specifically for Robin- with a smile. “I’ll be back soon.”

Chrom is a little later than he expects, when he does return, but bloodstains aren’t something he wants to come home with.

One down, ten to go. He’ll need to bide his time, Chrom realizes when panic sets in among the castles staff and the advisers that remain, but he can do that. It doesn’t have to be immediate, as long as it’s done. If he could wait seven years for Robin, he can wait a few months for his sake, as well.

 

Within three months, many things change. Robin manages to adjust to his size, though he still worries about crushing things, and the staff adjusts to his meal sizes. Robin becomes much closer to the twins, spending more and more time with Lucina and Morgan. The two seem to think Robin is nothing but cool, something which seems to do wonders for Robin accepting his current state. Chrom is happy they took to Robin so quickly.

And three advisers meet suspicious ends.

While Chrom finds it easy to put on a smiling face around Robin, Lucina, and Morgan, it’s much harder to hide his unwavering anger from Fredrick and Lissa. Lissa is, after all, his sister. She’s known him since the moment she was born, and she can see something is wrong, but she doesn’t know what happened, and isn’t able to connect the dots.

“Chrom are you… okay?”

“Yes, of course.”

“You just- you seem upset, lately. Are things okay? I thought you’d be happier, now that Robin’s back.”

“I am, Lissa. It’s all __other__ things, you know, with my advisers disappearing and all. I’ll be fine.”

“You still haven’t figured out what’s been happening to them? It’s really scary that this keeps happening.”

“No, but I have faith we’ll figure it out, and put a stop to it. For now, I’m just trying to focus on finding replacements.”

“Okay.” Lissa nods, frown not leaving her place. “Be careful.”

“I always am.”

“Untrue”

“Hey-”

“You’re the __least__ careful. Ask any of the Shepherds.” Lissa finally smiles, and Chrom offers one in return. “Now give your sister a hug before she leaves.”

“Where are you off too?” Chrom asks, as he pulls her into a hug.

“I’m taking Owain to meet, well, Owain.”

“Oh?”

“Yep. So I’ll see you again in a few weeks.”

“Have fun.”

 

Fredrick is harder to keep the truth from. Not only does he know Chrom nearly as well as Lissa does, but he also knows what’s actually got Chrom upset. Chrom expects to need some excuse for him, and avoids Fredrick for days on end when he can’t think of one, but is proven wrong when Fredrick finally manages to catch him alone.

“I know what’s going on.” Fredrick catches Chrom on his way back to his room, after a meeting.

“Fredrick, really, you nearly scared me to death.” Chrom shake his head. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I’m not going to stop you, I understand what you’re doing, but handling it yourself puts you in danger. If someone discovered what you were doing, there could be a riot.”

“So am I supposed to do nothing?”

“Yes.”

“Fredrick!” Chrom heaves a sigh, annoyance clear on his face. Fredrick is his friend, and he doesn’t want to direct his anger at the other man, but that is becoming increasingly difficult. If he understood, then he wouldn’t ask Chrom to do nothing!

“Let someone else handle it.”

“I can’t trust anyone else with this.”

“You can’t trust me with this?”

“You’d… do this?”

“Of course.” Fredrick nods, frowning as if disappointed in Chrom. Perhaps he is, but Chrom isn’t sure if it’s because of Chrom doubting him, or the situation. “I know two people who would be incredibly willing to help, as well. Especially if we tell them it’s for Robins sake.”

“Two people?”

 

Nothing happens for a few weeks, which has Chrom antsy. He tries not to doubt Fredrick, or his choice of help, but the lack of anything happening, and the continued putrescence of his remaining advisers, has him second-guessing his choice to allow the other to handle it. If he can’t trust Fredrick, how much more difficult will it be to protect Robin? Robin notices his mood, and worriedly questions if he’s okay.

“I’m fine, it’s alright.”

“I didn’t… do anything did I?” Robin’s question catches Chrom off-guard, and breaks down the angry anxiety in his chest. Robin is always very quick to assume he’s responsible for everything, whether that’s true- being the tactician during a war- or not- like now, or like when he first returned.

“Of course not.” Chrom forces a smile onto his face, for Robin’s sake. Robin shouldn’t be negatively affected by this, it was for his sake, after all. “It’s fine.”

The next week one of Chrom’s advisers falls ill. Not deathly so, much to his disappointment, but he’s unable to serve as Chrom’s adviser anymore. He also seems to have had bad luck with his glass dishes, as of late. Coincidentally, Chrom sees Tharja around the castle later that week.

Or not so coincidentally, if Chrom has figured out the situation. Fredrick confirms Chrom’s thought, and explains his choices

Tharja has always cared a lot about Robin, to the point where Chrom would have considered dismissing her from the army, had she not been such a powerful force. In time, her obsession got less worrying, though she still showed a lot of worry for Robin, and she became a powerful and frightening ally. Chrom hadn’t heard from her since Robin’s return, when she was told about it, but had heard she was busy with her family. Whatever that meant for someone like her. Choosing her to help, isn’t all that surprising. She’s effective, even if you want to get rid of someone without killing them.

The other choice, is a bit more surprising. Chrom hadn’t heard from, or really even about, Henry in quite a while. The other nearly disappeared off the face of the earth, rumors even spread that he was dead. The only evidence this wasn’t true, was Ricken’s assurances that Henry was still alive, off living in a forest somewhere, and that he kept in touch. At first, Chrom questions choosing him to help, being that Henry has never had a affinity for subtlety, but it makes more sense the more Chrom thinks on it. Henry is on par with Tharja in using curses and hexes- well, Tharja is better at the former, while he’s better at the latter- and has shown on more than one occasion that he care about Robin. Of the Shepherds who he fought alongside, there were only a few Henry ever referred to as ‘friend’ and one of those was Robin.

So, Chrom thinks they can handle it. Want to believe that he can trust them with protecting Robin, while he focuses on finding new advisers, and spending more time with his family.

 

Chrom loses another two advisers, leaving him down to- excluding Fredrick- three of his original council. Each of them grows increasingly worried the more time goes by, and Chrom finds himself getting some sort of satisfaction at their refusal to attend meetings outside of specific circumstances. As if not leaving their homes will somehow change what’s going to happen to them.

Lissa grows worried about Chrom, with all the advisers he’s lost, but he assures her that he’s fine. Fredrick comes up with a list of potential replacements for his lost advisers, and as much as Chrom would like to ignore the list in favor of having none, he knows he needs them if he wants to be able to enjoy a life with his family. 

The twins see that Chrom is stressed, and assume it’s because his advisers have ‘quit’ their jobs. Chrom assures them that he’s fine, and silently wonders how he’s acting to get all of these worried reactions. He’s actually felt rather happy, as of late. From advisers disappearing, to getting sick, to dying, his problems are becoming less and less. The assurance of his family’s, especially Robin’s, safety is good, and he’s happy about it. 

“I’m fine,” Chrom tells them, patting Lucina on the head, and Morgan on the shoulder. “I’ve just been busy, but soon thing’s will be back to normal.” 

Robin’s worries are harder to ease. He isn’t a child, and he’s always been very perceptive, but Robin doesn’t know enough details to put together what’s happening, so Chrom makes excuses. He’s worried, or he’s tired, because of the situation. That he’ll be fine once he has a full court again, once he can delegate duties to other people. 

“I think you’re giving yourself far too much stress, Chrom. I’m worried about you.” Chrom want’s to say that he’s doing this so Robin wont have to worry, but knows that would only make Robin more worried.

“I’m fine. Please, don’t worry so much about me, I’ve handled worse.” It’s not a lie, either. Chrom doesn’t think anything can compare to the stress and pain of losing Robin. Of seven years spent waiting. Even the five years spent with Lucina and Morgan, were painful. Better than the two before, especially better than the nearly a year spent finding a surrogate mother for his children, but still by no means what Chrom wanted. He wants his family, the twins and Robin, at his side. These past few months, even with everything going on with his advisers, have been better by far than those seven years.

 

 Within a year, all of Chrom’s advisers are ‘dealt with’ and replaced. Tharja and Henry don’t leave right away, and at first Chrom believes this is for the sake of not raising suspicion on themselves, but soon realizes Fredrick still has them doing something. It isn’t all that important what they’re doing, really, and Chrom doesn’t question it. If a few nobles start getting sick, or dying, it’s really none of Chrom’s concern. Especially if they’re those who would speak about Robin as if his being a giant somehow makes him less of a person. 

Lissa takes up almost half of Chrom’s duties, claiming he’s far too stressed for her to just sit back. “Besides, you haven’t gotten nearly enough time to spend with your husband as you should have, since he came back.” A sentiment which Chrom thanks her for. In turn, he occasionally offers to watch over Owain. It’s good for the twins, anyway, to spend time with their cousin.

Most importantly, though, is that within that year, the accommodations for Robin are fully complete. A building just outside of the castle, made to suit his size, is completed at a surprising pace, and Robin is finally given a place to live comfortably. There are smaller rooms- though still with enormously high ceilings- for the kids, and one meant for Chrom that he never uses in favour of staying with Robin. Who needs their own bed, when you can fit on your spouses shoulder, let alone their chest?

And, when spring comes, the courtyard between the castle and their home, is surprisingly comfortable. Tharja and Henry stop by briefly one spring morning, to see Robin, before they head out on a ‘important job’ they were ‘hired’ for. Lissa stops by in the afternoon to pick up Owain, who they’d watched the night before, claiming she’s done with her work for the day. Chrom has a sneaking suspicion that she’s actually just avoiding work, but it would be hypocritical to say as much. Fredrick is busy, Chrom knows as much, with some renovations being made to the nearby town. So, Chrom’s family is left to their own devices.

Lucina and Morgan race around the courtyard, chasing each other in a game of what Chrom thinks is tag, though they seem to have created some new rules for themselves. Robin sits, watching them fondly. It’s nice to see Robin happy, Chrom thinks.

“Hey, Robin.” 

“Yes?” 

“Lift me up to your shoulder.” Robin turns to Chrom, eyebrow raised, but Chrom simply lifts a book in response. Seeming to understand, Robin does as asked, carefully helping Chrom up onto his shoulder. Once there, Chrom sits beside Robins’ ear, and starts reading to him. The biggest downside for Robin, with his new size, has been his inability to read most books. Something Chrom has been trying to find a solution to, but has yet to figure out. For now, reading to Robin will have to do. 

Chrom’s never been a huge fan of reading, but he makes it through an entire chapter of the book, before Lucina and Morgan interrupt. 

“Big dad!” Lucina calls, her hands cupped around her mouth. Chrom holds back a laugh, but Robin doesn’t. 

“Yes, small daughter?” That, does make Chrom laugh. Robin smiles, leaning enough to hear her, but not enough to let Chrom fall.

“Pick us up!” Morgan is the one to respond, his hands held out like he’s going to be picked up by them. Which he wont, Robin is far too gentle to go swinging his children about. “Lucina said I was scared of heights! But I’m not!”

“You are! You grabbed me the whole time he picked us up last time!”

“Because you were scared!”

“I was not.”

“Children.” Robin lowers his hands, allowing them to climb up. “It okay to be scared of heights.” 

The twins continue to make arguments about if they’re scared or not, which are amusing more than anything. Robin, ignore their bickering, asking Chrom to continue reading, which he does. 

It’s nice, Chrom thinks. This is all he wanted, and could ask for, in his life. Robin at his side, happy. The twins, happy. Nobody around to hurt Robin, or their family. Even the others, though not here at the moment, are appreciated. Chrom thinks he would do anything, even endure what he already has, all over again, to keep this.

When Grima was defeated, it was bittersweet, but now? Now Chrom finds his life nothing but the sweet half of that. Sure, he had to go through with some unfortunate actions, in order to insure his situation. And perhaps he's changed, in some way, because of it. But that doesn't matter. Robin being safe, and happy, matters, more than any of that. More than anything else. So Chrom doesn't regret any of it. It was worth it, in the end.


End file.
